Visit or Volunteer

CERA reaches the community beyond Grinnell College to actively engage local public school children and learners of all ages in studying all facets of prairie life. Tours are provided each year for Grinnell alumni, visiting scholars, perspective students and faculty, K-12 students in local schools, conservation organizations, and the general public. The lab facility also conducts field-based workshops open to the public.

Trail Map

Driving Directions

Go north on Hwy 224 and take the first gravel road on the right (S 12th Ave. E).

Follow it east about 1.5 miles to the main entrance of CERA.

Watch for our main entrance sign.

Policies

The objectives of the following regulations are to prevent disturbance of research and conservation projects and to preserve the area's aesthetic qualities and natural condition:

Motorized vehicles are allowed only on the roads shown on the map. Please park in the designated areas.

Bicycles may be used on roads and mowed firebreaks, but not on the woodland trails. Horses are prohibited.

We encourage you to hike the marked trails or mowed firebreaks. You may leave the trails, but please do not enter the experimental areas (F and G on trail map). Do not disturb any equipment, flags, stakes, or markers; they may be part of an ongoing study.

Removal of anything is prohibited. Please do not pick flowers or disturb plants, fungi, or animals. Fishing and hunting are prohibited.

Do not leave any trash.

For Community Explorers

Public programs will be listed on the CERA Calendar. We will also plan special events during Parents' Weekend and Alumni Weekend.

For Educators

CERA is an exciting place to learn about science!

If you don't believe us, just ask a student who has already visited CERA. Below you will read about two of these visits.

North Mahaska Elementary School Science Field Day

The 5th grade class visited CERA in mid-October for a day filled with opportunities to hone mapping and orientation skills, learn about prairies, savannas, and even a few edible and "scratch-n-sniff" plants, figure out what kinds of information a weather station collects, and explore the art of fishing (catch-n-release style) and microscopic pond life. A huge thanks to Mr. Van Hulzen and Mrs. Boots (North Mahaska 5th grade teachers), parent chaperones, the bus driver, and our field technician for making this a fun learning experience at CERA! Let's do it again next year!

Prairie Insect Diversity and Study

Grinnell's Davis Elementary School fourth graders visited CERA again this fall to use microscopes to examine prairie insects that they collected in the field. They also completed a second year of counting and monitoring populations of six butterfly species. The goal of the trip was to enhance the students' current science unit, butterflies and insects, with hands-on outdoor activities. Over a dozen Grinnell College faculty, staff, and student volunteers assisted with the activities. Visit the Center for Prairie Studies website (outreach page) for more details.

Scheduling a Tour

We are very happy to provide tours of CERA for staff, faculty, and students in tutorials and classes from all disciplines on campus. We ask that you contact Larissa Mottl to schedule a guided tour at least two weeks in advance. A typical walking tour to observe and discuss the habitats, restoration work, and experiments at CERA and its lab facility will last 1-1.5 hours. For a tour focusing on a specific topic of interest to your class, please send your class syllabus and discuss your interests with the CERA Manager or CERA Director in advance.

Classes must provide their own transportation to CERA. Plan on a 20-minute drive from Grinnell to CERA taking Hwy 6.

Trail maps and CERA brochures will be distributed to the group at CERA or you may request that they be sent to you in advance of the trip. Alternatively, download a trail map.

Volunteer Information

There are many ways you can contribute to CERA. As a volunteer you can learn more about natural history, natural resource management and restoration, and environmental education. Volunteer opportunities include seed collecting, seed cleaning, brush clearing, prescribed burning, photodocumentation, biological data entry, assisting with elementary school field trips, leading interpretative tours and wildflower walks, monitoring of field research projects, and other special projects.

Prescribed Burns

The majority of prescribed burns are conducted in the spring (late-March through early May) and fall (November-December). We have one set of small experimental prairie plots that receive a summer burn treatment in late August. We plan prescribed burns for experimental prairie plots each year in the spring and fall and each fall for our forest plots. Prescribed burns in other areas are determined year to year based primarily upon management and restoration needs. Fire is used to control invasive species, prevent establishment of woody species in grassland areas, alter the dominance of certain vegetation types, prepare an area for seeding, or to research the effects of fire on a myriad of physical and biological characteristics of prairie, savanna, and forest ecosystems.

We cannot schedule prescribed burns more than a few days in advance because they depend on weather conditions. Consequently, it is often difficult to find help beyond our core group of faculty and staff. We rely heavily on a pool of volunteers who we can contact via email or phone a day or two in advance of a burn. A final "it's a go" email or phone call is made to volunteers the day of or within a few hours of the start time for the burn.

More information on prescribed burns is in the following documents. If you are interested in helping, contact the CERA Manager.